Merry Christmas, Rick!
by The Ikran Rider
Summary: This takes place before "Ending it All", and before the last English-dubbed episode. Back in Christmas 2004, it was when the series restarted as I saw the pilot. Tinsel surprises Rick with the gift of his dreams from 150 years ago.


**A/N: This was a holiday oneshot I came up with recently, and for some reason it keeps reminding me of the Christmas from 2004. I'll explain that later.**

Sure enough, it was Christmas in Mute City. It wasn't just peace on Earth and good will to men, but rather for the entire universe. Everywhere they looked, there were thousands of strings filled with shining lights both in and out of every building, and evergreen trees were plentiful. Frost glistened on every bustling street and rooftop, and carolers were tirelessly expressing the spirit of the season. Gifts were being exchanged as were a few of them in the Dragon Bird's rear seat.

Rick drove to the Falcon House and despite all the colorful streamers and the decor representing every holiday, business was slow. Burt and Clank were cheerful to see him visit. Rick laid the huge gifts on the counter as he was being served their specialty, a triple caf hot chocolate with dark and white coca beans. To the detective, it was the best thing he ever tasted! Although it was a limited edition beverage.

Burt offered Clank to open the first present and the tag was actually printed in Japanese symbols. The boy couldn't make it out, but Rick said it's for him and this one was picked by himself and Tinsel. For Burt, it was a fancy coffee maker for all flavors along with a blender attached to it. They said it was top of the line, easy to maintain, and it made great foam. There was an advanced tool set for Clank, compliments from Clash and Lucy. It even came with a miniature blowtorch.

They made their season greetings and Rick was off to headquarters.

* * *

The Task Force was waiting for him. Jody received a makeup set from Lucy and Tinsel with base, powder, and spray with a coating of peach-creme. Jack got some knickknacks for his instruments: a nifty guitar pick with decorative thunderbolts, nuts and bolts for his drum set, and guitar strings. EAD received tickets well in advance for Kate's concert next year, Stewart received heartfelt letters from his divorced wife and his long, lost son, Rodney, saying they both love him very much and hopes he'll have a Merry Christmas. Lucy got various sized frames for her numerous posters; she's always been the fan girl, even in F-Zero racing. Tanaka, however, was in his office instead of the main floor so his gifts would be delivered to him at a later time. And finally, Tinsel received a black and white checkered flag, as well as a model of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The latter was a present from her Duelist friends, Yugi and Joey. Rick got a mix audio Blu-Ray featuring songs about cars and racing; oddly enough, he actually loves songs based on them, regardless of the artist or genre.

While the team was opening their packages, Tinsel whispered to Clash if she could borrow the master key so she could access the Dragon Bird. She headed to the garage, unlocked the machine, and put in a small golden box, with a thin red bow on it, inside the glove compartment. After Rick got a model car of his vehicle 150 years ago, he looked up and noticed she was gone.

He found her in the dark garage loading something in his vehicle. He made her jump and bonk her head against the ceiling. She said bashfully while rubbing her neck she was hiding a special gift away for him. He asked to see it and she revealed the box. There was a lift-able lid and inside was a thin sheet of satin. Underneath that was a golden locket, and his heart almost stopped abruptly. She offered him to open it and to the right, there was a portrait of him smiling and wearing a green T; it was the same one he wore before he was put into cold sleep. To the right was an image of Haruka Misaki also beaming, or so it was. Tinsel said she tried very hard finding an exact image of her, but there wasn't one on file though. So she slightly modified it from the closest replica possible, according to his discretion. To Rick, it was the same...

He stared at it for several minutes, and Tinsel was relieved that he didn't realize it was actually Miss Killer she was copying from. She wanted to tell him, but she figured she'd keep her mouth shut and not spoil the tender moment. Rick's heart warmed, and Tinsel wondered if there was something wrong with it. He said there wasn't and he only felt this way because it was the best gift he ever received from anyone. Aside from Haruka's engagement ring, this was a great memento before he was into the century-and-a-half coma.

Eventually he closed the locket and the package. "Thanks, Tinsel," he whispered with a big grin. "I will cherish this forever." They embraced each other briefly.

"I wouldn't want anything more."

 _My feelings exactly,_ he thought.

She said she got it early November and since then went on a shopping spree to avoid the holiday rush early. His present was easy to pick out, the rest just took awhile.

"You just make sure you don't take it with you when you race."

"Will do. Thanks again, Tinsel."

And so they returned together back to the main room.

 **A/N: The concept with the makeup for Jody was an idea based on Del Spooner from "I, Robot." The rest I just made up. Oh, and the locket does appear again in "Ending it All", if you're wondering where it came from.**

 **As I've mentioned in my F-Zero retrospective, I'll never forget the Xmas of 2004, 'cause that was when I saw the pilot of the anime for the first time; I remembered recording it while I was opening gifts. It was one of the best ever! It means so much to me, and is the most memorable aside from Laps 2, 3, 8, and 12. And if I were to wish for anything on the subject of presents, aside from finishing the American dub of the anime and a new F-Zero game as good as GX...BRING IN RICK FOR SMASH BROS!**


End file.
